Avaya today announced the new version of its unified communications (UC) solution for small and mid-sized enterprises (SME), Avaya IP Office 8.1, which adds innovative capabilities to tap the full potential of next-generation collaboration. This includes new mobility, management and security features -- as well as custom-built services -- to help SMEs efficiently and securely take advantage of BYOD ("Bring Your Own Device") environments and advanced mobility.

Additionally, Avaya IP Office 8.1 -- which can serve SMEs as small as 5 employees -- now scales up to 1,000 users in a single location (up from 384). This gives mid-sized companies a more cost-effective, simplified way to manage more people on a network in one or multiple sites. It also provides Avaya business partners with new opportunities to provide mid-market customers with affordable, yet high-capability collaboration solutions.

SME Mobility Made Simple, SecureAn April 2012 Forrester Research study on BYOD trends reported that 56% of SME workers who use a tablet for work say they bring in their own personal tablet, while 66% say the same for their smartphones1. To ensure SMEs have the capabilities required for an evolving work environment, Avaya IP Office 8.1 introduces:

Avaya Flare® Communicator, the advanced mobility app previously only available to large enterprises, is now available to Avaya IP Office SME users on Apple iPad tablets or Windows-based laptops. It enables mobile access to collaboration capabilities such as business-class calling, presence, company directory search, and management of two simultaneous calls while mobile. Avaya Flare® Communicator for iPad tablets lets users 'drag and drop' available contacts into a spotlight, and launch instant messages, voice calls or emails by simply tapping the screen. The Avaya Flare® Communicator for Windows brings these capabilities to laptops.

New Centralized Management and licensing capabilities eliminate the complexity of overseeing communications for multi-site environments by enabling effective management of several sites from one location. Adjustments to individual sites can be made using a simple administration tool, saving on costs, labor and time.

Enhanced Security Options for Avaya IP Office adds protection against toll fraud, denial of service attacks, and other threats through use of a new SME version of Avaya Session Border Controller -- a solution delivering a protective SIP-based firewall. It makes security easy and affordable for SMEs to implement, with advanced capabilities for mobile workers such as the ability to encrypt media and signaling connections without using a VPN for UC. Availability anticipated later calendar 3Q '12.

Avaya IP Office Support Service, the first support service from Avaya for SMEs, provides fast resolution, technical support from experts, and secure remote access. New SSL-VPN capabilities embedded in Avaya IP Office 8.1 help ensure secure delivery of upgrades, patches and Web-based services. Customers are entitled to major upgrades, and Avaya partners can offer it via wholesale or co-delivery models.

Avaya one-X Mobile® Preferred for IP Office mobility app is now available for iPhone devices (previously announced for Android devices), bringing comprehensive business-class UC features to SME iPhone users.

Interoperability between Radvision SCOPIA endpoints and IP Office is expected at the end of 2012, offering open, cost-effective and easy-to-use video collaboration.

Avaya IP Office is sold exclusively through Avaya's channel partners. The solution is available now globally.

Quotes"As a growing windshield installation company -- with 18 locations and a busy contact center operation -- we require a reliable communications system that supports the highest levels of customer service. Avaya IP Office 8.1 helps us by enabling large volumes of call flows to move smoothly, and providing a great way to manage communications across all locations. We also plan to use IP Office's mobility capabilities in new ways, with features such as chat and presence via iPhone keeping mobile workers connected, and headquarters employees in touch with branch stores. With IP Office, managing our communications system couldn't be any easier."--Rick Maciel, Business Systems Manager, Techna Glass
Note: Installation for Techna Glass delivered by Avaya partner Mountain West Telecom

Executive Quote:"With the bar raised on all aspects of business mobility, security and management, Avaya is bringing its innovation to the forefront of the SME space -- and extending it further into the mid-market. Avaya IP Office 8.1 introduces new capabilities that help our customers and partners succeed in a shifting collaboration landscape, while ensuring they have the capacity to meet expanding communications needs."--Mark Monday, vice president, Collaboration Platforms, Avaya

Analyst Quote:"With each version of Avaya IP Office, we've seen UC delivered to SMEs with rising levels of simplicity and cost-savings, combined with increasingly sophisticated features. IP Office 8.1 continues on this path and scales upward -- helping more growing SMEs, mid-size companies and Avaya partners easily gain the benefits of enterprise-class collaboration."--Rob Arnold, Program Manager, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Frost and Sullivan

About Avaya:Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should" or "will" or other similar terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Avaya's filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. Avaya disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.